Pulse Calendar vs CompactCalendar
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pulse Calendar
This app acts as a daily planner and time-blocking assistant, analyzing your schedule to help you optimize your day. It integrates with multiple calendar services and offers smart features like adaptive alerts, automatic time-blocking, and personalized insights to improve productivity and time management.
- Calendar integration (iCloud, Google, Outlook, Exchange, CalDAV)
- Smart time-blocking and daily priority setting
- AI-powered schedule optimization and suggestions
- Habit tracking and productivity insights
- Natural language event entry
- Live Activity and widgets for quick access
- Customizable themes and app icons
Read full descriptionHide full description
Pulse Calendar turns your schedule into a daily coach. Connect your calendars (iCloud, Google, Outlook, Exchange, CalDAV) in one place and let Pulse analyze your time to help you use it better. Local storage by default, no account. SMART CALENDAR • Day, 3-day, Week, Month, Year and List views • Multi-account: Apple, Google, Outlook, Exchange, CalDAV • Natural-language entry ("lunch with Marc tomorrow 1pm") • Drag to move or resize an event • Public holidays and school breaks: 10 countries, 149 regions • Real-time travel time + "time to leave" Live Activity • Weather on your agenda (WeatherKit) + moon phase PRIORITIES & FOCUS • 3 daily priorities with anti-procrastination coaching • Auto Time-Blocking: Pulse blocks priorities into your calendar • "Just get started" timer with a live count-up • "Just 5 minutes" mode for low-pressure starts PULSE BRAIN — 100% ON-DEVICE AI • Optimize your day in one tap (focus + recovery + transitions) • Ask Pulse: an assistant that knows your schedule, with no cloud • Personalized morning briefing TRACKING & INSIGHTS • Detects your habits and alerts you when a regular event is overdue • Time breakdown by category, heatmap, peak productivity hours • Evening review with a daily score and tips JOURNAL, AVAILABILITY & MORE • Private Journal (iCloud sync) and daily notes • Life Replay: revisit your year in a recap • Share your availability and let others book time (Doodle-style polls) WIDGETS, SIRI & LIVE ACTIVITY • Today, Month and Day Battery widgets; next 3 meetings on the lock screen • Dynamic Island countdown before a meeting; 8 Siri commands THEMES • 50+ themes including Onyx, Aurora, USA, Miami, Crépuscule, Neon Gold, Lavender… • Live preview, automatic light/dark mode, customizable app icon ON ALL YOUR DEVICES iPhone, iPad and Mac. One purchase, synced everywhere. AVAILABLE IN 14 LANGUAGES English · Français · Español · Deutsch · Italiano · Português · Русский · 日本語 · 简体中文 · 한국어 · العربية · Türkçe · Tiếng Việt · Ελληνικά PRIVACY Local storage by default. No ad tracking. Shared calendars and Doodle polls (optional) use a secure anonymous server. PULSE PREMIUM • Unlimited Pulse Brain and Ask Pulse (free: 3 optimizations/day) • All premium themes, advanced insights, exclusive widgets Pulse Monthly: $3.99/mo · Pulse Yearly: $24.99/yr (save 48%) · Pulse Lifetime: $39.99 (one-time) 7-day free trial on subscriptions. Payment is charged to your Apple account at the end of the trial; the subscription renews automatically unless turned off at least 24h before the end of the period. Manage it in Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions. Terms: https://pulsecalendar.app/terms Privacy: https://pulsecalendar.app/privacy
CompactCalendar
Display your calendar events and reminders directly on your Home Screen and Lock Screen with customizable widgets. See your schedule at a glance, choose which calendars to display, and enjoy true calendar colors.
- Home Screen widgets
- Lock Screen widgets
- Events and reminders together
- Calendar selection
- True calendar colors
- Tap to open Calendar app
Read full descriptionHide full description
See your calendar and reminders right from the Home Screen and Lock Screen! CompactCalendar shows your events and reminders in clean, beautiful widgets — for both the Home Screen and the Lock Screen. Home Screen widgets: • Today & This Month: A month calendar with today’s events • Daily Schedule: Your events for the next 6 days at a glance Lock Screen widgets: • Up Next: Your next or ongoing event on one Lock Screen line • Next 3 Days: Upcoming events for the next three days • 2-Week Calendar: A compact two-week mini calendar More features: • Events & Reminders Together: See calendar events and reminders in one widget • Calendar Selection: Choose which calendars each widget shows • True Colors: Your calendar colors appear exactly as you set them • Tap to Open: Tap a date to jump straight into the Calendar app CompactCalendar Pro: A one-time purchase unlocks rectangular Lock Screen widgets and medium-size Home Screen widgets — forever. Start a more beautiful calendar experience with CompactCalendar!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Pulse Calendar at 4.1 against CompactCalendar's 1.0. Pulse Calendar also leads on review sentiment (75% vs 38%) and ratings volume (8 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Pulse Calendar sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and CompactCalendar sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Pulse Calendar holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pulse Calendar has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of Pulse Calendar's written reviews are positive against 38% of CompactCalendar's.
Pulse Calendar ships an update every 4 days, CompactCalendar weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pulse Calendar | CompactCalendar |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (8 ratings) — better | 1.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews — better | 37.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 43 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Pulse (app) | Sunghyun Kim |
Customer experience
Pulse Calendar
CompactCalendar
In-app purchases
Pulse Calendar
- Pulse Pro Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
- Pulse Pro Yearly7 Days trial$24.991 Year
- Pulse Pro Lifetime$39.99
CompactCalendar
- CompactCalendar Pro$3.99
Questions
Is Pulse Calendar free?
Is CompactCalendar free?
Which has better reviews, Pulse Calendar or CompactCalendar?
Do Pulse Calendar or CompactCalendar have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pulse Calendar or CompactCalendar?
Other comparisons















